The next morning...

Lily came out of the room that had been her sleeping chamber for almost two years now. She forced herself not to take another glance at it as she lugged her two grey suitcases along the hallway, heading for the stairs.

One of the housemaids who caught sight of her approached her and bowed her head slightly in respect as she said her greetings.

Lily acknowledge her and continued pulling the suitcases forward. However, the maid caught up to her and Lily raised a brow in askance. "What is it, Wendy?"

"Madam, please let me help you with your luggage," the latter offered.

Lily smilingly refused her assistance, "I'll be fine on my own, dear. No need to worry,"

Her smile couldn't fully mask the bitterness and the sorrow consuming her from inside. Although the maid noticed this, being a smart lady, she chose not to pry.

"When will you be back from your trip, madam?" Wendy voiced out her curiosity.

"I'm never coming back here. You and the others should take care," Lily responded before continuing her walk.

"Take care, Madam," she heard the maid say, but she didn't say anything in response.

Finally out of the mansion's huge golden gates, Lily headed to the community bench that was some distance away and sat on it. The ride she had booked would be arriving soon.

Her phone suddenly rang, yanking her from her musings and she reached into her bag, fumbling for it.  Fishing it out of her bag a moment later, she frowned on seeing the caller. But then, she still answered it, turning on the loudspeaker function.

Her father's voice echoed from the phone, the thrill in his tone was unmistakable and it left her feeling grossed out.

"Lily dear, I heard what happened. Don't be too sad, okay? There are many fish out there in the sea. I'm waiting for you to come home. I've found three eligible bachelors in the elite circle. Although they aren't as rich as Roberto, any one of them would still make a good husband for you,"

"Mr Nelson Aaron Quinn," she called out his full name, her tone rather calm.

But her father wasn't.

"What did you just call me, Lily?"

She replied, her tone indifferent, "Whatever your ears heard, that's what I said,"

"How dare you call me by my full name? Are you out of your mind?" he thundered.

"That's the only thing you worry about," said Lily, her eyes already misty, "You only care about yourself, your business and your happiness. But what cost? My well-being and my happiness!"

"You are my daughter, it's your duty to contribute to the family,"

"No, you don't consider me your daughter. To you, I'm just an item you can use to exchange for stability in the business circle, right?"

"I've invested a lot in you from infancy till you turned an adult. You aren't a son, and since you'd naturally end up in a man's kitchen, what's wrong with me selecting a good man for you? Besides, how much alimony did Roberto give you? Did he give you any property as well? I could make do with some extra funds for a project I've been considering embarking on,"

"I wish you weren't my father," Lily seethed.

"You ungrateful girl! Did I do wrong by not insisting for your mom to abort you? I didn't want a child at that time, especially a female one, but your mom convinced me to let you live. And after everything I've done for you, you're telling me this nonsense?"

"This is the last time you'll ever call me," she apprised him, "From now on, I'm no longer a member of that damned family, and I'm no longer your daughter,"

"You stupid girl..."

Lily cut the call and blocked his number. She set her lower jaw, trying hard to mask the hurt she felt inside, but she ultimately failed as a tear rolled down her right cheek followed by a few more.

Her perfect makeup was ruined now, but she didn't care anymore. Her shoulders racked with muffled sobs as the scene of last night replayed in her head.

After leaving her ex-husband's room, she couldn't sleep last night. She tossed and turned in bed and had later ended up in the balcony, her hand on the railing, staring at the sparsely starred sky till daybreak.

The honking of a car that just pulled over at the curb soon drew her attention.

"Hello, are you Miss Lily Quinn?" The driver, a young man, barely in his thirties, inquired.

She quickly dried her face with a hanky and sniffled before replying, "Yeah, that's me,"

"Can you please assist me with my luggage?" she requested in a polite tone.

"Sure thing," the man got down from the vehicle to help her out. Soon they were on the way to the airport and after 2 hours of waiting, Lily boarded a plane headed for her destination, WhyteVille.

Her father, being the stubborn man that he was tried calling and texting her using different numbers, but she ignored it and eventually discarded the sim. She was now in a new land and here, she would start a new life.

Back then she gave up her studies just because she was too excited to be Roberto's wife. Now she would continue with her studies and pursue her dreams.

***

Five years later...

A raven-haired woman descended the steps of the plane that had just touched down at the runway, taking a moment to appreciate the clear sky above her.

The plain and slightly loose thigh-length grey gown she was clad in, did little to hide her curvaceous figure, and even though she was donning glasses like many others present, she couldn't avoid drawing attention.

She walked into the arrival concourse and headed to the baggage claim area where she finally identified her luggage.

"I can't believe I'm here again," she mumbled to herself as she clasped her fingers around the handle of her black suitcase and lugged it along, soon mixing into the array of people miling about the terminal.

Suddenly, someone tapped her on the shoulder from behind, causing her to freeze in her tracks. She turned to see an unfamiliar young man wearing semi-formal clothing and lugging a suitcase of his own.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to bother you," he said with a sheepish smile.

"Anything the matter?" she asked, her tone colder than she had intended, but that didn't dissuade the young man.

"I wanted to ask if you're single," he said bashfully, rubbing the back of his neck, failing to hide his nervousness.

"Guess,"

"I'll take that as a yes?" he asked, his tone unsure.

"I'm not interested in kids," she said, sashaying away from the stunned man.

"I'm not a kid. I'm already in my 20s," he said as he rushed to interpose himself in her path, but she quickly sidestepped him.

"Not interested," she stated with a stern look, increasing her walking pace, leaving the man transfixed in his spot.

Outside the terminal, she  came across a bald man wearing a black suit, hands clasped behind him.

"Are you Lily Shawn?" he inquired.

She took off her sunglasses and smiled warmly, "Yeah, that's correct,"

Roberto was on his office, perched of his luxurious swivel chair. On his desk were stacks of documents waiting for his attention. One was currently in his hand but he just couldn't focus on it. 

"Damn it," he couldn't help but curse, adjusting his tie as though it was suffocating him. 

A knock on the door drew his attention and he put down the document in his hand, his eyes flickering towards the door. 

"Come in," he invited, trying hard to mask his annoyance to no avail. 

The door was pushed ajar from the outside and a tall young man donning a buzz haircut and wearing a dark grey suit entered the office. He adjusted the prescription glasses resting on the bridge of his nose, his eyes fixated on the one seated behind the desk. 

He walked to Roberto with a purposeful stride, his expression solemn, "Sir, the Fawn corporation have suddenly backed out from signing the deal,"

"What's the reason?" Roberto asked his assistant, internally grappling with the urge to pound hard at the desk. 

"Their manager demanded that we need to get an esteemed designer to work with us,"

"Which one?"

"Her stage name is Peony. But from what I've been able to ferret out, her real name is Lily Shawn. But I couldn't find any pictures of her, nor any other valuable information,"

"Lily Shawn," the name rolled off his tongue as he got lost in his musings.

"Lily..." He mumbled again. 

That name brought back a memory. One that he had never cherished because of his stupidity.

"She's based abroad, in WhyteVille to be precise. But Fawn corporation's manager told me the information they got was that the woman would be arriving at the airport today,"

"How are we going to find her when we don't even know what she looks like?" Roberto felt his frustration spiking.

And even if they did find how, how would they convince her to come work at their company?

At that moment, the secretary's phone rang and after excusing himself, he went to a corner to answer the call.

"Alright sir, I'll check,"

Soon, the secretary hurried to his boss to show him the picture on his phone screen.

"Sir, it seems she has arrived. She shared an update on her Blistagram account minutes ago. The background looks familiar though," he said, racking his brain for more clues. 

Not long after he exclaimed, "I know the place! It's Pine Quill Hotel & Suites, sir,"

Roberto took the phone and saw the raven haired woman wearing sunglasses and bright red lipstick.

Maybe it was his delusion but he oddly found her familiar.

But then he shook away that thought. His ex-wife had blonde hair not black and she never sported this cold look.

Since he couldn't get himself to focus on these mounds of papers, he decided he might as well shoot his shot at winning this designer over.

He rose from his seat, "Let's go to there then,"

Internally though, he couldn't help feeling resentful towards Fawn Corporation. A big company like them couldn't do it, why throw the task on him?

Or did they have second thoughts about the collaboration and decided to use this format to make him look incapable?

No matter what he would prove them wrong.

On the way to the parking lot, his phone rang and he fished it out of his pants pocket.

A shrill, angered female voice rang out from the phone the moment he pressed the answer button. 

"Roberto, why have you decided to embarrass me like this? Why did you not send the money? A measly ten million, Roberto, why is that so hard for you to give, huh?"

"What do you even need it for, Miriam?" He asked with a deep frown etched on his face.

"I need to buy the latest 'VJ' bag that just came out. You know it's my favourite brand. And there's a dress that really caught my fancy at that clothes store we visited last month. It's still available. It's designed by the legendary Peony herself. I want to be the one wearing it!"

Roberto felt a headache coming on, resisting the urge to facepalm, "Most of the clothes you bought last month, you haven't finished wearing them. And I bought you a bag last month as well. You know how the company is at the moment. I can't casually throw away that kind of money on trivial things,"

"Roberto, did you just say trivial? I had boasted, no, I had sworn to my friends that I would be wearing a Peony creation to the event tonight!"

"That's your own problem, Miriam. Deal with it," 

"You... How can you say such a thing? Aren't you my husband? Isn't it your duty ti make me happy, to provide for me whatever is my desire? What's gotten into you? Don't use the company as a cover up. I'm suspicious now. You're seeing someone, right? You're having an affair, aren't you? Who is she? I'm going to hack her into a million pieces..."

Furious, Roberto cut the call, teeth clenched.

He so wanted to hurl his phone to the ground, stomp on it and yell out his rage. But as a CEO he had an image to maintain out in public.

Paparazzi could be lurking anywhere and he didn't want to find himself looking ludicrous on the news and become a laughing stock in the industry.

He returned his phone back to his pants right pocket, his chest heaving from all the pent-up ire.

Why did he marry this big spendthrift, this uncaring woman?

After divorcing his former wife for her, it took him three good years to woo Miriam.

She finally accepted to be his wife when he proposed at one of their dinner dates. He thought he was the happiest man alive when she was finally pronounced his wife at the altar.

Everything was going great for the first year but this year she had done nothing but frustrate him.

He couldn't even touch her in bed without paying a fee which made him wonder if he had a wife at home or a hooker.

Before they got married, she had told him she wanted to be a housewife and raise their kids, but recently she started hanging out with some hypocritical friends and turned into a woman he just couldn't recognize.

Whenever he wanted to discuss with her, she would tell him she was tired.

He had turned into a bitter, frustrated man barely two years into his marriage. Now he often recalled how it was with Lily; he had peace of mind back then.

He regretted throwing her away because of Miriam, he often found himself dreaming about hugging his ex-wife in a cozy home.

It's really true when they said, only when you've lost something would you know it's true value to you, only then would you pine for it.

"Sir," the secretary tried to get his boss' attention for the nth time. This time it finally worked.

Without saying any word to his subordinate, Roberto walked towards the jeep and sat in the backseat. The secretary then closed the car door and rushed to the assume his position in the driver's seat.

...

Pine Quill Hotel & Suites

Roberto and his assistant were headed to the lounge, for that was where their target currently was.

On entering there, they found her seated at the furthest table with one leg draped over the other as she drew on her tablet.

She wasn't wearing sunglasses like in the photo of earlier. But just from her side profile, they could see how elegant and sophisticated she was. She stood out amongst all these people, like an ethereal being.

For the first time, Roberto started to feel nervous and inadequate. He started having second thoughts about approaching her.

Pessimistic thoughts swirled in his head but he quickly cast them aside, steeling himself to meet up with the mystery lady who was key to him bagging that deal.

They soon stood in front of her but she didn't seem to notice. She seemed totally lost in her own world.

A brief glance at what she was drawing filled him with awe. She was extraordinarily talented!

"Hello, Miss Lily Shawn," he said warmly in a bid to get her attention.

"One more minute..." She said, "No, gimme five," she quickly added without raising her head. 

"Sit down if you feel like it," she offered seconds later, her eyes still glued to her device.

6 minutes had passed and she hadn't stopped what she was doing.

Roberto chose to stand, watching her engrossed in her work. More minutes flew by, the silence hovering between them was thick. For a moment, he started entertaining the thought that this lady didn't want to see them at all.

But patience was one of the things he had learned to have over the years.

After roughly almost an extra 4 minutes of them standing, she finally raised her head to look up at him and his secretary.

Upon seeing who he was, her eyes flickered in surprise, and for a moment her jaws almost dropped open but then she quickly collected herself, the cold demeanor returning as she held his gaze.

She hadn't expected to meet him here of all places.  But she couldn't act familiar with him, he was a stranger to her.

Roberto, on his part, was stunned after his target raised her head. How come she looked familiar - similar to his ex-wife even?

"Why are you guys still standing?" she asked, looking puzzled.

"We just felt like it. Watching you work is a delight in itself," Roberto said with a polite smile.

"Oh, this?" she pointed to the drawing on her device's screen. "I was just whiling away my time out of boredom. This is just a doodle," she said leisurely, causing Roberto's mouth to twitch.

For some seconds, he was lost for words. If she considered that a doodle, then what would she consider as a perfect work?

"Please, have your seats," Lily offered, gesturing to the empty chairs on the other end of the round table.

With that, the two men finally got seated.

"So, gentlemen, what brought you here? Or am I in trouble?" she asked.

Her eyes were on the device as she made the finishing touches to what she called a doodle.

'Quite a perfectionist,' Roberto internally observed but he maintained the polite smile as he slowly shook his head before he responded.

"No, Miss. You're perfectly safe," he reassured, "I'm a fan of your works, you see. I'm thoroughly impressed by your creativity, your dedication to your work..."

"Isn't that typical of everyone who has a success story?" She had a brow raised in askance.

He suspired, feeling this woman would be difficult to handle. However, he was someone who rarely shied away from challenges.

"But you aren't just a person with a success story, Miss Shawn,"

"Oh? What am I then?" she asked, putting her device in her black leather bag.

"You are..." Roberto's words hung in his throat as the latter abruptly gestured for him to stop speaking.

"If you are here because you want me to work for your company, then I must apologize. I'm not interested," she rose to her feet and both men did as well.

 She hung the bag on her shoulder and asked with an incredulous look. "Are you planning to follow me?"

"Not at all," Roberto kept on his friendly look, although his patience was now starting to thin.

Why didn't she let him finish?

Lily fished out her android phone from one of her bag's inner pockets and quickly answered the call, her expression turning stern, "I'll be right there in a few minutes,"

Putting her phone away, she turned to Roberto, "I appreciate you coming to see me, but what you're asking for is impossible. The one who gave information about my arrival in this land should have also told you that I'm signing a deal with Fawn Corporation tomorrow. My integrity isn't for sale. Please, have a nice day, I have somewhere to go,"

Roberto was left transfixed in his spot the moment he heard her revelation. Still he didn't want to give up just yet.

"Can I do the honours of dropping you off at least?" He offered after rushing to catch up with her.

"My ride is already waiting outside. I appreciate your good intentions but please stop wasting your breath, time and energy on me, ex,"

With that she sashayed away, the clicks of her heels resonating in the almost empty lounge.

It took him a minute to realize what she said at the end of her sentence.

"Ex..." he mumbled and then... his eyes widened.

No wonder he found her familiar.

She was his ex-wife?!

At that moment, he made a break for the lounge's exit, hoping to catch up to her but when he got out, he couldn't find even her shadow.

His secretary was puzzled as to why his boss was acting like this. Clearly, their target already stated she wouldn't work for them.

His boss' action could be likened to asking a dead lion to growl.

Still, he chased after his boss, silently cursing Lily under his breath. Why didn't she just shoo them away from the start instead of frittering their time?

Roberto rushed to the parking lot, only to find his ex-wife seated in the backseat of a black maybach.

"Lily!" he called out desperately as he rushed in the vehicle's direction. On seeing him, the latter quickly wind up the car's tinted window and told the man in the driver's seat to move the car.

Roberto had almost reached his destination, only for the car to zoom past him. If he didn't get out of the way on time, he would have been hit.

His assistant finally caught up to him, panting, "Boss, why chase after her?" he probed.

"Because... she is someone I know. Someone important. A treasure I had foolishly casted away," Roberto replied, his tone heavily laced with a meld of guilt, regret and longing.

He had ditched the pearl for a fish eye and now, he was enduring the aftermath.

He didn't return to the office. Back there, he couldn't concentrate on his work and now that he had seen Lily again, he was surer that he would push those documents off his desk and probably ruin a few expensive items to vent his frustration.

"Fawn Corporation is really despicable," the secretary commented unhappily, "They already had her to themselves. Why ask us to try convincing her to sign with us? Was it to show their supremacy or that they have no use for us?"

"Whichever is the case, I won't let things slide," Roberto swore, clenching his teeth.

Upon reaching home, he found his wife waiting for him in the living room, seated on the red couch with a ugly and menacing look on her pretty face.

She had her arms crossed before her chest and also had her right leg placed over the other.

Upon catching sight of him, she immediately rose from the couch, ready to unleash a barrage of vitriolic words on him but he unexpectedly beat her to speech.

"I'm not in the mood for an argument right now, honey. Whatever you want to say, please, I beg you, keep it bottled up for later," With that said he made his way up the spiral staircase, his hand placed on the handrail.

However, his wife wasn't intent on letting things be. She charged up the stairs, the  clatter of her footwear reverberating across the living room.

Roberto, who was in the midst of changing, got a bit startled when the door was suddenly kicked open and a raging Miriam entered the bedroom.

He frowned but didn't say anything as he continued undoing the buttons of his white shirt, suddenly finding them a hassle.

"Roberto, are you even a man?" she barked, her chest heaving.

"You well know the answer," he replied in a calm tone,"

"Why are you so deadset on embarrassing me, huh?" she interrogated, walking closer to him.

"Why can't you understand? That money is a lot, and you aren't even going to use it on anything beneficial," he reasoned.

"So you're calling me stupid and a spendthrift? Where is the man who gave me a grand wedding back then? Coz all I see right now a lazy, lying weakling," she ranted.

Roberto facepalmed, feeling a headache coming on.

Should he have just gone to the bar and gotten worse for the drink before coming home?

"Honey, please stop this. I did nothing to deserve these insults,"

"Do you know my mates out there now look down on me? The last charity we attended, others donated millions and even one of my friends in addition to funds, also donated a necklace that cost 5 million to the orphanage. But what did we donate?" She held up two fingers before continuing with her complaint, "Two million. Just a paltry two million that isn't even enough to buy anything worthwhile for those poor souls. Do you know how sad, embarrassed and depressed I was? I gave up my successful career for you, have you forgotten?"

"Miriam, I was never against your work. You were the one who decided to be a full-time housewife and I agreed since that's what you wanted," Roberto pointed out.

"Roberto, I well know you're having an affair outside, misappropriating company funds for so long. If find out who that woman is, believe me, I'll make her wish she was never born," she threatened and then turned to leave.

But at the room's threshold, she stopped in her tracks and turned to look at him. "You have just two hours to fetch me the money or else, consider it over between us,"

After saying that, she slammed the door shut behind her.

Roberto had his lower jaws set, hands fisted by his sides and his eyes barely contained his rage.

This was the woman he fell in love with? She only cared about herself, not an ounce about him.

He nodded sagely, "Very well, if that's what you want,"

Then he made a beeline for the bathroom and slammed the door hard.